Karun River

Karun

The Karūn (also spelled as Karoun) is Iran's most effluent, and the only navigable, river. It is 450 miles (720 km) long. It rises in the Zard Kuh mountains of the Bakhtiari district in the Zagros range, receiving many tributaries, such as the Dez and the Kuhrang, before passing through the capital of the Khuzestan province of Iran, the city of Ahvaz.

The Karun continues toward the Persian Gulf, forking into two primary branches on its delta: the Bahmanshir and the Haffar that joins the Shatt al-Arab (Arvand Rud in Persian), emptying into the Persian Gulf. The important Island of Abadan is located between these two branches of the Karun. The port city of Khorramshahr is divided from the Island of Abadan by the Haffar branch.

The name of the river is derived from the mountain peak--Kuhrang, that serves as its source.

Famous silent film documentary Grass: A Nation's Battle for Life (1925) tells the story of Bakhtiari tribe crossing this river with 50,000 people and 500,000 animals.

It was here during the Iran–Iraq War that the Iranians stopped the early Iraqi advance. With its limited military stocks, Iran unveiled its "human wave" assaults which used thousands of Basij (Popular Mobilization Army or People's Army) volunteers.

Dams

Several dams were built or are under construction on Karun river such as: